FRANCIS, Sask. – Muhr Farms uses three Case IH combines to take off its crop at Francis. While the family likes the combines, dropping the concaves was always more difficult than they felt it should be.
“It used to be a two man show with a crowbar – one man to lift the concaves and one man to either remove or put in the pins. We came up with the idea that we needed something simple, so that one man could manoeuvre them himself,” said Blaine Muhr.
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The factory setup lowers them partially, about 30 percent of the way.
“This system allows you to lower all three concaves at once, right to the auger bed. It gives you more room for unplugging the combine if you happen to plug it, for regular servicing or checking the rotor.”
Muhr said to accomplish this, he built a winch system that takes about five minutes to mount in the combine.
“There’s no holes to drill. Everything comes assembled. It’s just a matter of putting it in place, bolting it to the inside of the combine.”
The winch part is drilled so it will attach to existing vane bolts above the concaves. The angle iron that the winch hooks onto is drilled for existing bolts on the concaves.
Muhr said the winch is mounted in the middle of the concaves, so it lifts evenly.
“For lifting the concaves, you need a half-inch ratchet to turn the winch up or down. The winch uses a two-inch belt strap and a hook at the end that hooks onto the angle iron.”
Muhr said the winch will work for the 1400, 1600, 1800, 2100 and 2300 series Case IH combines. He is looking at making it available for the 8000 series as well. Other companies have different rotor setups, so this winch is designed only for these Case IH models.
Because it worked so well for his own combines, Muhr decided to try selling the device for $99.99.
“We started three years ago. Two years ago we put a patent on it and we’re starting to distribute them now. We manufacture them on our farm, but we have a distributor in Regina – Wilke Sales,” he said.
“When you were by yourself, you had to fight if you wanted to lower all three concaves. Now, you can do it all by one man, with little effort.”
For more information, contact Wilke Sales in Regina at 306-586-5711.
